Pollution-18 commercials Population-6 commercials Miscellaneous-5 commercials Attitudes toward the environment in general-1 commercial Resource depletion-no commercials The classic commercial from our standpoint must be the one that shows a young family-type man leaning against his stationwagon, which is drawn up alongside a gasoline pump in a service station. As his gas tank is being filled, our environmentally aware hero explains how much he approves of the new low-lead gasolines that have come out on the market. But as the camera shifts from him to the interior of his car, we see that he is the father of nine children! This commercial clearly focuses on the problem of air pollution. But it also neatly demonstrates that, even within a framework of concern for the future environment, no one seems very concerned about population levels. Rising pollution levels may cause some worry; but, on network television, population growth presents no problems, and remains essentially invisible or overshadowed. Chapter 17 Congressional Executive Relations in the Formation of Explicit Population Policy by Phyllis T. Piotrow Population Crisis Committee COMMISSION ON POPULATION GROWTH AND THE AMERICAN FUTURE; RESEARCH REPORTS, VOLUME VI, ASPECTS OF POPULATION GROWTH POLICY, EDITED BY ROBERT PARKE, JR. AND CHARLES F. WESTOFF |